BIGGER AND BETTER: Hugo Boss Getting Super-Sized At Columbus Circle

There has been a bit of relocating and re-shuffling of stores over the past year at The Shops at Columbus Circle over the past year that has added new stores like H&M and enlarged the footprints of original tenants like J.Crew and Sephora. The most impressive increase in the mall-that-nobody-likes-to-think-of-as-a-mall appears to be courtesy of Hugo Boss which looks to be taking over the relocated Sephora's previous space (pictured above) over its existing store to become a three level mega-flagship, and the only store in the complex to ascend from the two-story street level through to the mall's second level.

A while back, Hugo Boss had a big brand palace on Fifth Avenue that any international designer would covet. In what seemed like a surprise move, the brand sold the lease to Giorgio Armani in favor of maintaining its presence with three smaller stores in SoHo, the Meatpacking District and Columbus Circle. At the time, it was seen as something of a defeat as it looked like the company had overreached with the costly Fifth Avenue showcase store, but now it seems that the strategy has paid off. The Columbus Circle store is apparently getting a major boost in size that will make it quite the showplace, and with Nordstrom coming to the neighborhood, the location is now even more desirable than it was when the shopping center opened 10 years ago. Perhaps the a Fifth Avenue flagship is not all it's cracked up to be, after all?

Hugo Boss 10 Columbus Circle, Upper West Side